This Week in Mobile – Headline from Across the Tech World

Samsung Loses Patent Judgement in their Own Backyard

Apple and Samsung are duking it out in courtrooms across the globe. In the latest battle in the mobile patent wars, Samsung was dealt a hefty blow in their own backyard. What makes this particular case unique was that it played out Samsung’s home country of South Korea, and the ruling went against Samsung.

According to a Washington Post and Reuters report that in a case covering three Samsung patents, and Apple products including the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5 and iPad 2 Judge Shim Woo-yong ruled against a sales ban and threw out Samsung’s request for monetary damages.

Instagram Rolls-Out Private Messaging and Video

Instagram is fighting to remain relevant in the fiercely competitive field of social photo networking. The Facebook owned app has released their latest iteration in an attempt to take on rivals, such as the fast growing photo app SnapChat. According to news reports, the newly launched feature enables its 150 million members to send private photo and video messages to friends and loved ones.

The founder of the smartphone photo-sharing service, Kevin Systrom says, “Sometimes there are moments that are meant for one person, or a few close friends: an inside joke among friends, or a picture sent to someone you love just to say hello”.

Spotify Mobile App Delivering Music Free

Spotifyhas decided its time to serve up tunes for free. In attempt to gain additional market share in the mobile music space, the company has dropped the $10 per month fee to let you stream music through your smartphone or tablet. The main restriction Spotify has put in place with the free service, requires users to listen to songs in shuffle, or random, mode. Paid users can play specific tracks on demand and also download tracks to their mobile devices; they also get ad-free music.

iPhone 5C Falls Further from Grace

The verdict is out and its official, America hates the iPhone 5C.

The cheaper version of the newest iPhone release is being outsold by a 4 to 1 margin by the more expensive iPhone 5S. Wal-Mart announced that they will be selling the smartphone for only $27 with a two-year contract from Verizon or AT&T during the holiday season.  Apple’s iPhone 5C was released as the more affordable counterpart to the iPhone 5S three months ago.

The less expensive device was meant to grab market share in the developing world with its $99 price tag but has been bluntly rejected by consumers in favor of the 5S model. Apple has been forced to slash orders of the device and analysts suspect that the lackluster sales may prompt Apple to discontinue sales of the device altogether.

Future Mobile Growth Outlook

As a digital agency and iPhone app developer in Atlanta focused on coding mobile apps for established businesses and start-up companies we see the mobile industry continue to reinvent itself into the New Year. The pace of innovation continues to gain momentum as wearable technology like Google Glass launch into the mainstream markets. We can expect the pace of Android adoption to accelerate and surpass all other operating systems. We expect Apple’s iOS to remain the development platform of choice, but many in the iPhone and iPad app developer community are brushing up on their Java skills and giving Android a second look.

More tech news headlines to come…